"We… are we walking into a Titan nest?" Elder's voice trembled as he scanned the giants stirring in the early sunlight. His gut turned cold.
Oruo swallowed hard. His usual bravado as Levi's second faltered, hands trembling despite gripping the reins tight. The fatigue from the long night vanished, replaced with bone-deep dread.
Even Petra, who always carried herself with a soft smile, could no longer mask her fear. Her eyes darted in panic at the shapes looming around them.
Lock's gaze swept across the field. The giants weren't fully awake yet. Their sluggish movements gave him a narrow window of opportunity. He urged his horse closer to Elder's side, his tone steady but firm:
"Before they're fully alert, we push through. If we're fast, we'll outpace them. If not… then we fight. Everyone in this convoy fights, or no one survives."
Elder clenched his jaw. The rookie's words carried weight. As the one temporarily in charge, he had to choose—and quickly. He raised his voice:
"Convoy, faster! Push forward!"
He and Petra spurred their horses to the front, leading the charge, while Lock and Oruo dropped back to guard the rear.
Oruo's face twisted grimly. "Too many… Rookie, I don't think we make it out this time."
Lock smirked faintly, a sharp edge in his tone. "Then die if you want. I'm not done living."
"Tch… I really can't stand you."
"Funny, I was about to say the same."
Despite their words, the brief exchange steadied them. Comradeship built through bloodshed had forged trust no words could undo.
The sun crept higher, spilling light over the plain. One by one, Titans turned their vacant, hungry eyes toward the convoy.
Signal flares burst in the distance—other patrols reporting Titan presence.
"We slipped past the worst of it," Oruo noted, glancing around. "They've got us from the left, right, and rear, but the road ahead's open."
Lock's eyes narrowed. "Don't get too comfortable. The normal ones are no threat, but those three abnormals… they won't let us go."
His swords flashed into his hands, steel glinting.
Oruo mirrored the motion. His gaze locked on the erratic shapes charging toward them—three abnormals, movements jerky yet terrifyingly fast. "Two on the left are mine. You take the right. No arguments."
Before Lock could speak, Oruo kicked his horse forward, blades raised.
"…Don't you dare die," Lock muttered, spurring his own mount to meet the giant head-on.
The abnormal before him loomed nearly five meters tall, flailing its arms in wild, unpredictable arcs. Each swing carried lethal force; a single misstep meant being smashed or snatched.
Lock's horse thundered forward, hooves drumming like war drums. The abnormal Titan barreled straight at him, arms slicing the air.
Fifty meters.
Thirty.
Twenty.
He fired his grapples—the twin hooks bit deep into the Titan's knees, cables hissing taut. In an instant, Lock launched upward, body coiled with explosive strength. His blades gleamed as they carved across the Titan's wrist.
A wet crack split the air. Flesh and bone parted under sheer force, the Titan's hand severed cleanly. Its balance faltered. Lock twisted midair, momentum carrying him through, and his next strike cleaved into its ankle.
The abnormal toppled with a thunderous crash. Before it hit the dirt, Lock was already upon its nape. His blades crossed in a single, precise stroke.
The Titan's body convulsed once, then stilled, steaming away into the dawn.
The entire sequence had lasted less than ten seconds.
Elder and Petra galloped up, eyes wide in disbelief.
"…Sharp," Elder muttered.
Petra nodded, stunned. "Unbelievably sha;p."
Lock flicked the blood and steam from his blades, scanning the battlefield. "One down. Don't freeze now—we're not out yet."
The Titans closed in, the earth trembling with their steps. The convoy thundered forward, caught between death and the faintest chance of survival.
And Lock tightened his grip on his blades.
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